Freedom of Choice

 

Site of the Freedom of Choice marker (Goochland County photo)

There’s a lot of history in Goochland. Thomas Jefferson, whose personal book collection became the seeds for the Library of Congress, probably learned to read at Tuckahoe Plantation.

The Marquis de Lafayette is believed to have visited Goochland, and Cornwallis marched his army through Courthouse Village on the way to Yorktown.

Charles Lindbergh visited the Ben Dover estate in the eastern part of the county.

More recent, and unpleasant, history tends to get short shift. Awareness of what happened in the past, warts and all, is vital to put history in context to ensure that transgressions are not repeated.

The Goochland Historical Society has teamed with the Goochland NAACP and Rotary Club to place an historical marker in front of the county administration building to commemorate the integration of Goochland High School, which marked  the end of racially segregated education throughout the county in 1965. This was eleven years after the United State Supreme Court ruled segregated schools unconstitutional and months after the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed by the United States Congress.

Robin Lind, President of the Goochland Historical Society, addressed the Board of Supervisors at its March 7 meeting to request approval of installation of the marker.

“Nine months after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in public facilities, Goochland County schools were still segregated by race with approximately 1100 black students and 900 white students, “Lind said.

There were a white and black high school, two white elementary schools, Cardwell and Goochland, three black elementary schools Randolph, Kanawha, and Byrd. “A group of courageous students and their parents instituted a class action lawsuit seeking an injunction to provide for the prompt and efficient elimination of racial segregation in Goochland County public schools,” Lind said.

After the suit was filed, the Goochland School Board, on June 8, 1965, adopted a Freedom of Choice Plan to comply with the law. In the fall of 1965, 62 black students transferred to white schools. As a result, there were blacks in every grade in every school in the county, except for the sixth grade at Goochland Elementary School.

At the high school, said Lind, 14 black students—one each in grades 11 and 12; two each in grades nine and ten; and 10 in grade eight—were admitted.

The marker will recognize those who integrated Goochland High School and celebrate the courage, endurance, and grace of those students and their parents. “They believed that what Abrham Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature”, ab challenged the county to live up to those ideals, said Lind.

(Go to https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/252/578/1410489/ to see the court case and details of how the ruling was implemented in Goochland.)

Linda Glover Minor of Gum Spring, one of those brave eighth graders, went on to teach in Goochland Schools.  She and some of her fellow student pathfinder were recognized with applause and a standing ovation from those attending the meeting.

“It is with grateful appreciation and a grateful heart that we say thank you to the Goochland Historical Society, Chrsitina Dunn, Robin Lind, Vernon Fleming, and Wayne Dementi for their work on the historical marker to represent those of us who were the first African American students at Goochland High School,” she said.

Minor looked around the room “This was our auditorium when we attended school, where we came for pep rallies to cheer our football teams on to victory.”

She thanked the supervisors for their approval to place the marker on the ground where this important event in county history took place. The  marker will be a primary source to study the past and serve as a beacon of light for the future, said Minor.

She also thanked her parents, the NAACP, and other community leaders who supported them and pushed for the law of the land to be followed. “There were obstacles and challenges, but the group had many successes. All 14 students graduated with their respective classes. Two of those are deceased, two live out of state, and the remaining ten, who were in the room, live in Central Virginia.

Eighth graders were: Jacqueline Carroll, Rose Ellis, Linda Glover, Diane Holland, Michaelle Johnson, Darnell McCowin, Eva J. Miles, and Sarena Robinson.

In the ninth grade were: John Jewell, and Patricia Diane Lewis. Frances Copeland was the sole eleventh grader, and Ronald Jewll, the only senior.

Priscilla Copeland and Aretha Robinson were tenth graders. Diane Patricia Lewis was a ninth grader. Serena Robinson Harris,

The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved placement of this Freedom of Choice marker in front of the county administration building, which was Goochland high school in 1965, to commemorate the integration of county schools.

Following approval by the supervisors, the marker will be ordered. Delivery is expected to be in about 24 weeks, which will determine the date for ribbon cutting. This is planned to be a community wide event, organized by the Goochland Historical Society, NAACP, and Rotary Club.